He Dreamed After All
by TimeLady S0nya
Summary: Part of the 'After All' series I've been writing.


Her hair smelled like sunlight should if it had a scent, actually, he considered to himself thoughtfully, there is a planet where you could smell sunlight. Leaning in, he took another deep sniff of Rose's hair and nodded to himself, yes, just like that. Bright, pure and full of promises about a good day. The Doctor's arms wrapped around her waist from behind, holding her back to his chest as his chin rested on the top of her head, studying the sight right out of the TARDIS doors in front of them in silence. It was a birthday gift to her, a trip to a star nursery to watch suns be born. Of course they had to speed time up around their little bubble in the TARDIS so they could watch it properly.

Rose shifted in his arms, causing another cloud of her unique scent drift up into his face and nearly make him groan from the wonder of it. Biting the inside of his cheek, the Doctor stopped breathing and used his respiratory bypass instead to stop the temptation of inhaling her scent over and over again. He didn't want to admit it to himself, but it did many things to him that no other scent in the universe could do. Shifting his eyes away from the bright display, he moved to the side and held her there instead so he could study her out of the corner of his eyes. Her face held an excited expression on it as bright bursts of light flashed across her skin, highlighting her features clearly for seconds at a time.

Suddenly, she turned to look over at him and flashed a bright, one-of-a-kind Rose smile at him, most likely able to take his breath away if he had been breathing at the time. Though it did kick his hearts into high gear just at the sight of it. Lately she had been looking run-down and exhausted, it killed him every time he looked at her face. Making him decide that this would be a proper birthday gift to the girl. He turned his head to face her and flashed her one of his signature grins, waving a hand over at the display with a proud expression. "Fantastic, isn't it? I've been to one of these before, but not this one... You should have seen that one... Colors exploding across the sky. Red, blue, yellow, green and ones you'll never see on Earth. Something no human could ever imagine in their little homes." He said in excitement, his eyes glittering in happiness as he studied her expression as she listened to his story.

Turning his attention back to the star nursery, he felt the bright smile slip into an easy grin as another bright point of light was born in front of them. Before he could point it out to Rose, she snuggled up into his side, cutting off his thoughts at the feel of her pressing against him. "Doctor, This is a wonderful present. Thank you so much." She murmured into his leather jacket, her words coming out slightly muffled from the fabric pressing against her face. Looking down at her, he hesitantly tightened his arm around her and leaned in to breathe her scent in once more.

As he leaned in, his eyes closed so nothing would distract him from analyzing the smell from her hair. Before he could breath it in, however, something soft pressed against his lips making his eyes pop open in surprise. Looking down, he stared into Rose's eyes, from the look in them she was just as shocked as he was. Pulling away quickly, she backed up a step, her face turning a bright red he's only ever seen in the very heart of a burning star. "S-Sorry!" She stammered, her words tripping over themselves as she tried to explain. "I meant to kiss your cheek and you turned your head as I reached up and-"

Blinking slightly, the Doctor reached up and placed his fingers on her lips to stop the torrent of words. As she fell silent, he pulled her back into a hug, his hand reaching up to caress her jaw gently. Without saying a word, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers softly, his eyes closing tightly with each fiber of his body analyzing the taste of Rose. Sweet, salty, spicy and other tastes he's never had the pleasure of enjoying until now. All of them wrapping up into one simple kiss that could only be uniquely Rose.

"Um... Doctor?" Her voice cut through the Doctor's daydream, bringing him back to the TARDIS control room as he shook his head slightly and looked down at her with a questioning smile. "What, Rose?" She smiled slightly and stood on her tiptoes, pressing her lips to his cheek lightly before letting go of him and stepping away to close the doors in front of them. "It is a wonderful present, Doctor. Thank you so much..." She trailed off, looking up at his face for a moment, seemingly confused at the expression on his. "Can we go see my mum now? I'm sure she'll throw a fit if we don't show up for my birthday."

Nodding mutely, the Doctor turned around and walked back to the controls, setting them to the co-ordinates seared into his brain from so many visits in the past. "I don't want her coming to see this either, Rose. Domestic, that's what she'll make my TARDIS and you know it. So no telling her." He said in his usual brisk, no-nonsense tone as he worked, not noticing the irritated look crossing her face at his words. "Right. See you in a bit. I'm going to shower." She snapped, causing him to look up after her as she vanished down the hallway in confusion. "Right..." He murmured, lifting his shoulders into a shrug as he turned back to the console in front of him, leaning against it with his hands as he stared blankly at the blinking lights, his imagination kicking back into high-gear at the thought of her in the shower.

"Ah!" The Doctor growled at himself, shaking his head sharply before pulling the lever down and sending the TARDIS flying into the vortex and towards Rose's home. Turning around, he ignored the tittering hum the controls directed at him as he walked towards his room for a shower of his own. A rather cold shower at that.


End file.
